You may have to wait until Sunday, July 19, to find out who will be honored during the 2015 ILA Awards Reception and Ceremony in St. Louis, but we are happy to announce our all-star cast of literacy leader presenters today.

Master of Ceremonies (and former ILA board member) Steven L. Layne—noted author and professor of literacy education at Judson University in Illinois—will kick off the event that not only highlights ILA’s mission to empower educators, but also celebrates the fortitude and commitment of our individual members and their work toward ending illiteracy.

The presenters* attendees can look forward to include:

• Layne, who will present the Arbuthnot Award—reserved to honor an outstanding college or university teacher of children’s and young adult literature.
• Bernadette Dwyer, ILA board member and lecturer of education at St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, Dublin City University, Ireland, who will present the Technology and Reading Awards—reserved for educators in grades K–12.
• Ellin Oliver Keene, author and teacher educator, who will present the Jerry Johns Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award. Keene’s work includes Talk About Understanding: Rethinking Classroom Talk to Enhance Understanding (Heinemann), and Mosaic of Thought: The Power of Comprehension Strategy Instruction (Heinemann).
• Douglas Fisher, ILA board member and professor of education at San Diego State University, who will present the Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award.
• Teacher educator Linda Hoyt, who will present the Special Service Award—presented for unusual/distinguished service to ILA. This award is not given annually. In fact, this will be the first since 2009.
• Teacher advocates and authors Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle, who will present the William S. Gray Citation of Merit—given to a nationally or internationally known individual for outstanding contributions to the field of literacy.
• Todd Brekhus, president of myON and Capstone Digital, who will present the Legends in Literacy Awards—given in partnership with myON to recognize individual and team achievements in the advancement of literacy in schools and communities.
• And last, Tiffany Sears and Angela Rivell, ILA Council Advisors, who will present the Advocacy Award, given to state and provincial ILA councils that demonstrate how they are working to affect educational policy and legislations, and the Exemplary Reading Program Award, which honors schools that have demonstrated outstanding reading and language arts programs at all grade levels.

The 2015 ILA Awards Reception and Ceremony will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Room 276 of America’s Center Convention Complex. The first 30 minutes will include a cupcake reception for attendees.

The ILA 2015 Conference will be held July 18–20 in St. Louis, MO, with more than 6,000 educators ready to transform their practice. Key topics affecting literacy featured at the conference include content literacy, children’s literature, classroom engagement, and professional development. In addition to conference favorites, including a revamped Teaching Edge series and the Putting Books to Work panels, more than 120 exhibitors will be on hand with new tools and technologies for all manners of literacy education.

Learn more about the conference programs at ilaconference.org or register today!

* This list of presenters is current as of press time.

Colleen Patrice Clark is the editor of Literacy Today, ILA’s member magazine.